[center][h2][color=9e0b0f]Emil Burton[/color][/h2][/center]
[center]Atop Wall Rose, Trost District[/center][center]-----[/center]

Emil was crouched next to a crate full of cannon shells, delicately sorting through the strands of hay that kept the shells from touching as he felt deep into the crate to figure out how deep the shells were stacked. He nodded to himself before writing down a small number "12" on the inventory sheet he had on the clipboard in his hands. He placed the lid back on the crate before kneeling a bit further down to read the crate number and other information from its markings. Around him were the other cadets who had managed to make it to graduation. 

Emil quickly moved his eyes over the group from his crouching position by the crate. They'd all grown quite a lot, and to say the least the majority of the younger ones couldn't be considered kids, at least not anymore. He stopped on Lauren, the brown haired girl had grown quite a bit. Gained almost a foot from what he remembered of her, it made him a little jealous in honesty as he had seemed to remain the same height over the three years despite being one of the oldest among the group. But that wasn't all, she was someone with a purpose. Driven by something bigger than herself. What it was though, Emil hadn't quite figured out, and she was one of the better cadets when it came to 3DMG use. His view remained on Lauren for a moment before he noticed her turning her attention to him and he quickly got back to looking at the clipboard in his hands.

Emil slowly looked up, ensuring that Lauren was no longer looking his way, [color=9e0b0f][i]'Coast seems clear...'[/i][/color] he thought to himself as he moved across the group once more. Gabriel seemed to be just as polarizing as he'd always been with Olivia and Reese at his side as they went about their duties. He had some worries for all three of them. From what he knew of them he was pretty sure they had their hearts set on joining the Scouting Legion, and if training had taught him anything it was that they'd either have to get leagues better with their gear or die in the process because there was no way they'd be able to cut it versus anything more than a training titan.

Then there were Tanner and Grant. Grant was a bit more of an enigma than Tanner, but both were about as confusing as they come. Three long years of training side by side with these folks and Emil had learned little about Grant, be it from Emil's own circumstances and being away when the boy did talk to everyone, or from the fact they were both the loners of the group, Emil knew only that he seemed to ahve something he was striving for. Something important to him, or to someone else. Tanner however was a different story, the kid was the closest of any of them to beating Emil with the gear, and he was sure he'd be able to hold his own versus a titan. Which was a relief seeing as he knew for a fact that Tanner was set on joining the Scouts. 

[color=9e0b0f][i]'They're all crazy...'[/i][/color] Emil thought as he looked out over the land that was once theirs on the Wall Maria side of Wall Rose, [color=9e0b0f][i]'They all want to go out there and throw their lives away...'[/i][/color].

There was a blinding flash directly in front of him causing Emil to shut his eyes tight, the white flash still visible through his eyelids even with them shut tight. When he opened them after the light had passed he was greeted by the inhuman face of the titan from so many years ago, its face devoid of flesh and it's mouth stuck in an unwavering smile. Gasping for a moment he watched the massive titan raise it's arm and bring it sweeping down on the batteries atop the wall. With no noise but the crashing of the steel tracks and the rubble of the wall as the Colossal Titan brought its arm his way Emil stood and broke into a sprint for the Trost side of the wall, "Seventeen." he'd say to himself as time seemed to move in slow motion. He had seventeen meters to cover with just seconds left before the Colossal titans arm would reach him and send him splattered across the sky. The odds stacked against him and his fellow cadets, Emil reached for his gear handle as he sprinted. Not taking it from its holster he pulled on the gas handle as hard as he could and the noise of the gas burst to life behind him, the jet of the gas at its full output sent Emil roaring forward and it took everything he had to not fall and be pushed by the gas in random directions to then be finished by the Colossal titan.

The gas giving him the extra speed he needed to escape the Colossal's attack, Emil shot awkwardly over the side of Wall Rose, his body spinning as the gas sent him forward uncontrolled. The hiss of the gas behind him ended as he took the few precious moments he couldn't have wasted atop the wall to grab the handles out of their holsters. Spinning his upper body he would now be facing the Wall. He shot his hooks for the wall and they landed and stuck as intended, with another press of the gas handle Emil arrested his fall enough to make the jolt at the end more tolerable and came to a skidding halt along the side of the wall. Then came the debris from above. Emil dropped his legs to lay flat along the wall as the rock and steel showered down from above. After just a few seconds it was all over and Emil was back on his feet against the wall looking up.

He turned to his left to see Lauren slightly farther above him but well within earshot, he looked around for others who had escaped the attack but didn't notice anyone to his right. As he continued to search he'd call out to Lauren, [color=9e0b0f]"Anyone else make it?"[/color] his voice sounded small, distant, he wasn't sure if it was because of the adrenaline or because he was afraid of what was to come, [color=9e0b0f]"What do we do now?!"[/color] he yelled again.